Wayland Fire Chief Joe Miller is asking the City Council to approve new Jaws of Life rescue equipment at a cost of $30,000.
Miller demonstrated the new battery- operated extraction tools to City Council members at a meeting on June 4.
The new equipment allows easier maneuvering for firefighters and cuts down on time and noise while extricating victims pinned in a vehicle after a crash, according to Miller.
Miller said the equipment cost was included in his budget created in February 2018 and submitted to the city's budget committee. Final approval will come from the City Council.
The new system is quieter, which allows firefighters to hear one another, Miller said. He said it has the same amount of power as the current hydraulic Jaws of Life tools. But more importantly, Miller said, the battery-operated ones do not have any attached hoses, making it possible to take them a long way to the scene of an accident. "If you have a car that is way off the road 100 feet or more you can't reach it with our hose-connected hydraulic tools," Miller said.